A refrigerator is an indispensable household appliance that has been in use for more than a century for food storage. However, people end up wasting food and money in the process of preparing, consuming, and replenishing food stored in the refrigerator. For example, a person may not consume perishable food items in time to avoid the food from becoming stale. A person may forget about leftover meals kept in the refrigerator for later consumption, or may unknowingly purchase food items already present in the refrigerator. Food wastage not only burns a hole in consumer's pocket, but also contributes to environmental pollution, indirectly affecting people's health. Further, a person may misjudge the stale food to be consumable by simply looking or smelling the food and end up jeopardizing his/her health.
Presently, more than one-third of America's population is obese. This is primarily attributed to unhealthy eating habits and high calorie intake. People consume more of processed packaged food and drive-through picked up food items that are considered to be cheap, delicious and feasible to be stored in the refrigerator for multiple days. However, ignoring the high calorie intake associated with such food items leads to obesity and other health implications.
An oven including in-cavity sensors and a processor configured to automatically identify foodstuff within the cooking cavity based on the sensor measurements is disclosed in US 20160327281. This document is cited here as reference.
Further, in the prior art the consumers spend a considerable amount of time in the food procurement and logistics operation. In the prior art the consumer sends an electronic shopping list, which takes time to prepare, to a shop with home delivery. Alternatively, the consumer goes to the shop himself to do the purchases which takes even more time.
The prior art is deficient in techniques that can identify and suggest consumption of food items present in the refrigerator before they become stale. Further, the prior art is deficient in methods of assisting a user with timely procurement and replenishment of food items and consumption of healthier food choices.